NASA spots a new asteroid with a very unique shape.

There are currently over 1.2 million known asteroids on Earth, with the majority of them being relatively round in shape. While not perfectly circular, most of the asteroids NASA studies have a resemblance to petrified potatoes.

These rocks tend to float between Mars and Jupiter, although a small percentage passes by our planet, such as 2011 AG5, which was recently found 1.8 million kilometers away from Earth.

This shape is not often observed, but the scientists at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory of the California Institute of Technology have been able to learn more about its size, surface, and shape in recent weeks due to its relative proximity. Although the existence of 2011 AG5 has been known since 2011, details about it were previously unknown.

According to NASA, this asteroid is one of the largest ever seen and shares a structure similar to the Empire State Building in New York. Measuring approximately 500 meters in height and 150 meters in width, it is larger than 1,040 asteroids that NASA has studied over the years, including Oumuamua, the first object from another solar system to pass by Earth.

However, NASA has ruled out the possibility of a collision with Earth since the chance of impact was small. Although the asteroid will come close to our planet in 2040, it will pass by at a reasonable distance of 1.1 million kilometers.

It is not currently known whether NASA will repeat the Osiris-Rex project of landing on an asteroid to collect materials.

In addition to these discoveries, NASA experts also observed an inlet on one end of the asteroid and noted that 2011 AG5 appears coal-like in color when viewed without a telescope. It may be time to dust off your binoculars.